Tracks or strips of road, dry lake beds, or another flat surface used for drag racing, which is an automobile race over a flat, straight course, most commonly 1/4 mile in length. Drag racing as an organized sport began in the 1930s on dry lake beds in southern California. Tracks or strips of road, dry lake beds, or another flat surface used for drag racing, which is an automobile race over a flat, straight course, most commonly 1/4 mile in length. Drag racing as an organized sport began in the 1930s on dry lake beds in southern California.